The Changing Geography of Salmon Canning in British Columbia, 1870-1931 / by Edward N. Higginbottom
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THE CHANGING GEOGRAPHY OF SALMON CANNING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1870-1931 Edward N. Higginbottom B.A. Simon Fraser University, 1985 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (GEOGRAPHY) in the Faculty of Arts @ Edward N. Higginbottom 1988 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY September, 1988 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Name: Edward Neil Higginbottm Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: The Changing Geography of Salmon Canning in British Columbiar 1870 - 1931 Examining Committee: Chairman: J.T. Pierce P.M. Koroscil Associate Professor A.C.B. Roberts Associate Professor R.A. *her Professor ~xternalExaminer Department of History Simon Fraser University Date Approved : September 7, 1988 \ PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simn Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, proJect or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Llbrary, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or In response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational Institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thes i s/Project/Extended Essay The Changing Geography of Salmon Canning in British Columbia, 1870 - 1931 Author: (signature) Edward Neil Hiqqinbottom ( name September 30, 1988 (date) ABSTRACT Between 1870 and 1931 two cycles of expansion and retrenchment characterized the growth of salmon canning in British Columbia. Each period of expansion produced a distinctive geography, shaped by linkages between the species of salmon targeted, fishing methods used, and techniques employed ,inside the canneries. And each period of expansion ended in crisis, with over investment, over capacity, and excessive competition plaguing the industry. Each time, British Columbia Packers provided the solution by consolidating salmon canning companies and closing redundant plants. From 1870 through 1901 the industry's geography reflected a dependence on sockeye salmon. Large numbers of sockeye ran to the Fraser, Skeena, and Nass Rivers, and Rivers Inlet, where they were easily caught using small boats and gill-nets. Small, largely manual canneries were able to pack all the fish caught, and these canneries clustered in the estuaries of the sockeye rivers. When too many canneries and overproduction paralysed the industry following the 1901 season, the British Columbia Packers Association was formed. The association took over forty canneries, closing twenty-eight of them by 1906. From 1906 through 1927 expanding markets and declining sockeye runs forced canners to target the other species of salmon. These fish ran to the developed rivers, but also ran in numbers to rivers outside of the sockeye districts. A new fishing technique, purse-seining, enabled canners to harvest these new fishing grounds cheaply, while faster, more mechanized canning lines allowed them to pack large numbers of these fish quickly, and at less cost. During this period salmon canning dispersed to all areas of the coast. By 1927 excess investment and wasteful competition again plagued the industry. When poor runs that year threw the industry into turmoil B.C. Packers again provided the answer. The company merged with two other firms, controlled forty-one canneries, and closed twenty-five of them by 1931. Despite the large number of canneries involved, neither consolidation fundamentally altered the geography of salmon canning. Although B.C. Packers concentrated its production into L fewer canneries, it continued to operate plants in a11 canning districts. Technological limitations prevented any inter-district centralization of operations. For my mother TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL PAGE ..................... i i ABSTRACT. ....................... i i i DEDICATION. ...................... TABLE OF CONTENTS ................... vi LISTOFTABLES:. ................... vi i PREFACE ........................ ix Chapter 1. FOCUSED EXPANSION, 1870-1901.. ........ 2. BRITISH COLUMBIA PACKERS AND THE CLOSURE OF SALMON CANNERIES, 1902-1906.. 3. THE MOVE TO NORTHERN WATERS, 1905-1925.. ... 72 4. THE CLOSURE OF CANNERIES, 1926-1931. ..... 128 NOTES.. ....................... 151 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................... 174 APPENDIX A: CANNERY NAMES AND YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION.'. 179 Maps 1. SOUTH COAST SALMON CANNERIES. .... in back pouch 2. NORTH COAST SALMON CANNERIES. .... in back pouch LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1. Distribution of Salmon Canneries Acquired by B.C. Packers in 1902 ............. Canneries Acquired by B.C. Packers in 1902 ., . Estimated Value of Machinery in Fraser River Salmon Canneries, 1902 ......... Dates of Cannery Closures on the Fraser River. ............. Production of B.C. Packersf Rivers Inlet Canneries 1898-1904. .......... Boat-Rating for Rivers Inlet, 1903-1904. ... Skeena River Boat-Rating, 1903-1904. ..... Percentage of Total Pack Put Up by Individual Canneries on Rivers Inlet in 1903 and 1904 ............ Percentage of Total Pack Put Up by Individual Canneries on the Skeena River in 1903 and 1904 ............ B.C.P.A. Cost of Fraser River Sockeye Pack for 1905. ............ B.C.P.A. Cost of Sockeye Pack for 1907. ................ Percentage of the Total Provincial Pack Put Up by B.C. Packerst Canneries. ...... Percentage of District Pack Put Up by B.C. Packerst Canneries in the Fraser River, Skeena River, and Rivers Inlet Districts, 1902-1906 ............. Total Number of Canneries Operated in British Columbia, 1902-1906 ........ Fraser River Canned Salmon Production, 1897-1912. ............ Sockeye Salmon Production of the Fraser River System, 1891-1919 ........ 78 Fraser River Canned Salmon Production by Species, 1903-1927. ............ 81 Composition of the Fraser River Salmon Pack by Percentage. .......... 85 Fraser River Versus North Coast Pack ..... 87 Production of Salmon Canneries Located Outside the Fraser River District, by Species. .... 9 4 Total Provincial Salmon Pack, by Species ... 9 5 Provincial Production of Canned Salmon, by Canning District. ......... 110 Production of Canned Salmon From the Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver Island, and the Outlying Districts ............ 112 Percentage of Total Provincial Production Put Up in Each Canning District, 1903-1927 . 114 Production From Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, and the Outlying Districts (Combined), by Species ....... 115 Percentage of Provincial Production Made Up by Each Species, 1903-1927 ...... 118 Salmon Canneries Operated by B.C. Packers b Following the 1928 Consolidations. ..137 B.C. Packers' Percentage of Provincial Canned Salmon Production ........... 149 viii PREFACE The primary objective of this thesis is to examine and explain the changing geography of British Columbia's commercial salmon canning industry between 1870 and 1931. Used in this context an examination of the changing geography includes: 1) the changing distribution of salmon canneries along the provincial coast--where and when salmon canneries were built, and where and when many of them were closed; 2) the changing patterns of production within the industry, which includes the changing size of the provincial salmon pack; where salmon canning occurred along the coast; the changing species composition of the pack, both provincially and within each canning district; the changing importance of each canning district; and, finally, how these changing patterns of production related to the changing distribution of canneries; and 3) an interpretation of the reasons underlying these changes. To achieve this examination a variety of factors were studied. These included technological change within both the fishing and canning sectors of the industry, changes in the use of the resource base (the different species of Pacific salmon), fisheries regulations, how the industry was financed, markets, changes in industrial structure, and, perhaps most important, the absolute and relative location of salmon canneries both along the coast, and within each of the salmon canning districts. Because the geographical importance of each of these factors varied throughout the periods studied, they are not accorded equal treatment for each period. Nor is each discussed to the fullest, for a detailed examination of the individual components of the industry is not the objective. Instead, this study tries to show how, together, these components shaped the expansion of salmon canning in British Columbia, then traces the resulting pattern. Two sizable consolidations, or mergers, occurred during the study period, one in 1902, the other between 1926 and 1928. Both involved the British Columbia Packers Limited, and in both B.C. Packers acquired over half of all the salmon canneries operating in the province.' In the years that foliowed each consolidation, many of the plants involved were closed. Consequently, a secondary objective was to examine the impact of B.C. Packers on the geography of the canning industry during these years. Studying the circumstances surrounding each consolidation, and the locations of the plants closed and kept open, should highlight problems and operating constraints faced by all salmon canners during each study period. The